Specialty: Magic & Spoonerisms
As a former member of the National Brotherhood of Magicians and the local Ring 193 in Salt Lake City, Carol Esterreicher learned the importance of the story “patter” that accompanies the performance of magic tricks. Most of the illusions Carol performed were already perfected by fellow magicians in the local Ring 193. The members, mostly men, were avid hobbyists or professional performing artists. They became interested in the “patter” Carol invented providing a renewed interest in standard well-known tricks.
At the 2011 National Storytelling Network Convention Carol was awarded Oracle Award for Leadership and Service in the Western Region. At that event her “Fringe” performance portrayed several of her students’ background stories and the magic tricks each learned to perform as they gained competence in oral language in their speech and language therapy classes. They were all applauded “stars” at their school-wide talent show. At the Florida Storytelling Festival the following year, she repeated this presentation. The “Fringe” performance stories border on relating the students’ backgrounds and personal experiences mastering the patter and verbal performance rather than associating tricks with classic tales.